Life in assisted-living

As the baby boomers enter retirement and their parents age, more and more families are facing similar conversations to decide about care for their loved ones or for themselves.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Jane Whitmore, who is 101 years old, relaxes in her small apartment at Kelly House in Evansville. She is surrounded by many things that remind her of home.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Jane Whitmore chops a pepper while making a fresh salad in her apartment at Kelly House in Evansville.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Jane Whitmore, 101, puts food away in the refrigerator in the kitchen of her small, Evansville apartment. She said she likes to keep things neat and organized.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Jane Whitmore says this portrait she painted of her husband Don, which hangs in her apartment at Kelly House in Evansville, is one of the things that makes the facility feel like home.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Jane Whitmore, who is 101, enjoys reading whodunit novels in her Evansville apartment.

Bill Olmsted/bolmsted@gazettextra.com

During a recent visit to her mother’s apartment at Cedar Crest, Carole Francis, left, and Zona Mennicke go over some of Mennicke’s paperwork. Although her mom does most of the work herself, Francis makes suggestions and ensures nothing gets overlooked.

Bill Olmsted/bolmsted@gazettextra.com

Zona Mennicke plays a little bit of music on the electronic keyboard her daughter Carole Francis, right, gave her. A lifelong piano player, Mennicke had to give up her piano for space reasons when she moved into an apartment at Cedar Crest.

Bill Olmsted/bolmsted@gazettextra.com

Carole Francis, left, helps her mother Zona Mennicke put away groceries. Mennicke has recently given up her drivers license and now needs help in running errands and other tasks away from her Cedar Crest apartment.

Bill Olmsted/bolmsted@gazettextra.com

During a recent visit to her mother's Cedar Crest apartment, Carole Francis and Zona Mennicke look through a family photo album together.

Bill Olmsted/bolmsted@gazettextra.com

Carole Francis, left, gives her mother Zona Mennicke a quick kiss on the cheek during a recent visit to Mennicke's Cedar Crest apartment.

Nick Agro/nagro@gazettextra.com

(From right, counterclockwise) Ann and Jim Hyzer visit with Jim's father Bill Hyzer and Ann's parents Faye and Ted Bidwell during a lunch hosted at Cedar Crest Wednesday. Ann and Jim's parents both live in apartments at Cedar Crest.

Nick Agro/nagro@gazettextra.com

Faye Bidwell, left, places a crib into a cribbage board for her husband, Ted, who has trouble seeing, as their daughter, Ann Hyzer, visits with them at Cedar Crest in Janesville. Hyzer says a tour of Cedar Crest helped convince her father that moving into a senior care facility was smart.